Nice house party in Palo Alto, what to wear

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have to go to a nice housewarming party in Palo Alto. I haven't been to California in years. What do women wear? It will be tech people. I want to look nice but not stand out.

Just go for an Eileen Fisher look- the more modern version with the slightly cropped, wider leg pant, the loose natural fabric cropped sweater with stretch cami in peeking beneath. In like navy, taupe, black, eggplant or a slate blue. Pair with lace up oxfords same color as pants or a sleek sneaker. Get an artsy pair of lucite dangly earrings or similar. Delicate necklace at neck or none at all.

No. That sounds like an outfit for an artsy/hippie party or a bunch of yoga instructors. This is tech people in Palo Alto. How old are you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are flying in. It's going to be several hundred people and live music. I guess I would rather be overdressed than be the only one in jeans.

I would not wear a dress.

Just wear pants that aren't jeans if jeans feel risky. Same advice, nice top/sweater. Nice flats. Understated but some jewelry.

[Anonymous]

Nice jeans, boots or chunky heels or loafers if that’s your thing, silk blouse or cashmere sweater

[Anonymous]

CA truly is casual, but they do spend money on their casual stuff. Athleta has a sale going on.

I recently went to a funeral for a senior partner at a big accounting firm, and wore a dark sheath dress with a wrap and black low heeled shoes. I was the most dressed up person there BY FAR. The deceased always wore suits, but the mourners still all showed up in casual wear. To a funeral.

[Anonymous]

Faux leather/coated flare black flare pants and a nice top. Or, when in doubt a black jumpsuit with long sleeves and an oversized denim jacket. If the vibe is more casual than you had originally thought, keep the jacket on and you’re good. If it is more dressy, take the jacket off and you’re good.

[Anonymous]

OP please update us. I’m really curious.

I’d go with a fun top paired with dark jeans and flats or low boots

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are flying in. It's going to be several hundred people and live music. I guess I would rather be overdressed than be the only one in jeans.

I live near Palo Alto. So this means it is likely a partial indoor, partial outdoor event. And people will be dancing, even the older ones (every party like this I’ve ever attended here ends up with people dancing). There won’t be an expectation of removing shoes if it’s meant to be partially outdoors because they know people go in and out here (automatic shoe removal is common here even in non-Asian households). The band will probably set up outside.

A casual, flowy, but nice dress is fine and allows for dancing. As an example, I’ve worn Oliphant dresses to summer house parties and been on point, to give you an example of the range. A wrap dress would be fine.

Don’t go east coast heavy and dark. Guests from the east coast at these events often look like the hired security.

Do wear a nice coat, because if it is early spring, the evenings will be very cold outside. Light color is more common than dark unless you are going for the Patagonia VC look (not recommended).

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

OMG just be yourself! I'm sure whatever you wear will be just fine. Don't try to "look like them", because then you'll just end up feeling not yourself at all.